On December 7th, the 2024 20th IEF International Digital Culture Carnival, themed ‘E towards the future, youth is burning’, was inaugurated at the Jinan International Convention and Exhibition Center. The event was supported by the China Youth Daily and the Publicity Department of the CPC Jinan Municipal Committee, and co-hosted by China Youth Network, the Korea International Exchange Alliance, and the Shandong E-sports Sports Association, among others.
Since its inception in 2005, IEF has successfully held 19 sessions. In its 20th year, IEF sets off anew, introducing a more diverse range of content sections. The event primarily focuses on e-sports competitions, encompassing music, animation, and cultural creativity, with young e-sports players from various countries competing on the same stage, promoting cultural exchange through the common language of e-sports. Concurrently, the event features digital culture and animation-themed exchanges, creating an international digital sports and culture event aimed at young people, supporting the development of youth digital sports and culture industries, and fostering international youth-friendly exchanges and cooperation in the cultural and sports industries. A responsible person from China Youth Daily stated that the official opening of IEF in Jinan brings together young friends from multiple countries for a digital sports and culture event. This event not only showcases the achievements and progress of youth in the digital sports and culture industry but also conveys the warmth, vitality, and hope of the people of Jinan and the city itself. He emphasized that China Youth Daily will strive to make IEF a long-term, practical, and strong event in Jinan, using culture as a medium and e-sports as a way to make friends, to support the development of Jinan’s city, digital sports and culture industries, and international exchanges and cooperation among young people, contributing to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. IEF Director and President of the Korea Smart Medical Association, Jin Jun, said that IEF has become a valuable platform for global youth exchange, pursuing dreams, and sharing technology and passion over the past 20 years. IEF provides a stage for young people worldwide to showcase creativity and cooperation, promoting international exchanges and friendly cooperation, and has become one of the global e-sports cultural centers. He hopes that IEF will continue to develop and inspire global youth to create sustainable outcomes. Liu Jingtao, the district head of Huaiyin District, Jinan City, Shandong Province, stated in his speech that IEF, as a globally recognized brand activity integrating digital culture and digital sports, is an international e-sports event for young people in China, playing an important role in promoting global digital cultural industry development and international youth exchange and cooperation. The successful holding of IEF in Jinan will undoubtedly attract more high-quality e-sports projects to gather and develop in Huaiyin District, injecting new momentum and vitality into the digital cultural industry development of Jinan and Huaiyin.It is reported that Jinan, the host city of the event, actively responds to the strategic deployment of Digital China and a digitally strong province. It has clearly set the goal of ‘building a digital city that leads the province and is first-class in the country, and taking the lead in building a digital pioneer city’. The holding of this event provides a high-level competition experience for digital culture enthusiasts and injects new vitality into Jinan’s digital culture industry. In the future, IEF will continue to bring a digital sports and cultural feast to global youth with a more open attitude, richer content and more exciting activities, and promote the global digital culture industry to move towards a more prosperous future.
Huang Guili, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Jinan Municipal People’s Congress, Sun Shihui, director of the Jinan Civilization Office, Shin Kwang-oh, chairman of the South Korean IEF, Meng Yang, executive director of the International Department of the All-China Youth Federation, Sun Zhaoliang, second-level inspector of the Shandong Provincial Sports Bureau and secretary-general of the Shandong Sports Federation, Zhang Juzhong, deputy director of the Jinan Municipal Sports Bureau, as well as leaders and guests from government departments at all levels, social organizations, universities, enterprises, etc., and young e-sports players and digital culture enthusiasts from multiple countries around the world participate in the event.
